Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Reduces Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP has reduced its stock position in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 3.8%, holding 1,603,901 shares after selling 63,705 shares, representing 2.0% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Charles Schwab, with Vanguard Group Inc. boosting its position by 15.4%, now owning 148 million shares valued at approximately $11.6 billion.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a $20 billion share buyback program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, indicating confidence in its stock valuation and commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP cut its holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,603,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 63,705 shares during the period. Charles Schwab accounts for 2.0% of Liontrust Investment Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned 0.09% of Charles Schwab worth $125,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,616,380,000 after purchasing an additional 19,817,022 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 229.3% in the 1st quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,002,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,096,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,749,728 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 354.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,005,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $814,545,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584,173 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at $440,699,000. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at $383,510,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total value of $249,574.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,332,727.83. This represents a 15.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.06, for a total transaction of $316,037.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,188 shares in the company, valued at $3,956,519.28. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 308,016 shares of company stock worth $29,341,433 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.35.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE SCHW opened at $97.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $177.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.79. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52 week low of $61.16 and a 52 week high of $99.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.68% and a return on equity of 19.30%. Charles Schwab's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab Profile

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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